A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE

God is the One Who is encompassing everything. All that we do is witnessed by God. All that we hide is known to Him. Where we are one the other is God. Where we are two, third is God. God, the Absolute, the Eternal is the Beginning and the Final Ending. In the light of these facts the knowledge of God is infinite and boundless.

When God, the most Merciful intended to create the universe he said, "Be!" and the universe came into being. In simple words its explanation would be that the universe, in fact, is the knowledge of God that has been displayed in the form of the knowledge. Manifestation of the universe is the transformation of God's knowledge It is the knowledge of God that is expressing itself in the form and features of the universe therefore the whole universe is nothing but the knowledge of God.

Knowledge is knowledge whether it is little or much. Droplet of the water of ocean is also water. Water in the form of an ocean is water and in the form of a droplet is also water. It remains water whether it is in the form of an ocean or a droplet. Since this universe is a manifestation of the knowledge of God therefore the reality, the basis and structural formation are all knowledge. When the incarcerated life of material world is analyzed it becomes amply clear that the whole life is nothing but knowledge. And knowledge is knowledge only when there are meanings and purpose in it.

A strange feeling creeps in when one deliberates upon the cosmic system established by God, the Fashioner of the worlds. It appears very strange that why has God made such a system in which pain and pleasure, agony and delight, sorrow and comfort are existing, side by side. For instance, no one can live without taking food. Everyone is constrained to sleep. One encounters restriction after restriction and there seem to be no ending. This sense of the knowledge is altogether different from the actual purpose of the knowledge of God. God told Adam, "O, Adam dwell in Paradise with your spouse and eat of the bountiful things with delight as and where you want."

Paradise is such a dwelling where the limits have not been appointed, or to say, it is limitless. The holy statement of God, "Eat delightfully as and where you want." indicates that Adam was granted control over the limitless vast area of Paradise. In other words our father Adam was enjoying the sole ownership of the limitless area of the Paradise.

Besides this Adam was also told by God, the most wise, "Don't go near that Tree or you will run into harm and transgression." In the vast expanses of Paradise there are countless trees and plants. Amongst all those trees one was pointed out to Adam and he was instructed not to go near that particular tree. It happened that Adam committed disobedience though he never wanted to do so. Consequent to his mistake the atmosphere of Paradise rejected Adam. And, he was deprived of the land which was given to him. This whole episode was something like this.

There is an enchanting Garden with trees, plants, brooks and streams and magnificent palaces to reside in. Man has been granted every right to use anything according to his satisfaction and will. Only one part of the Garden has been restricted for Adam and he has been told that though you have the power to enter that part but it would be better for you not to exercise that power. As long as Adam did not commit disobedience to that decree of God which was forbidding him from nearing a particular tree in Paradise, time and space remained at the disposal of Adam's command. But once by neglecting the forbidding instructions he committed disobedience, the spatio-temporal restrictions were imposed upon Adam. Various versions are found regarding the Forbidden Tree. According to some people it was a wheat plant, some claim it to be the apple tree and some believe that it was the tree of grapes.

Different people have different stories to relate about that tree but as far as the Holy Scriptures and divine books are concerned no name of the tree has been mentioned.

When this tree is observed according to the spiritual view point and in the state of unconscious activities experienced during the transcendental meditation, it is found that this tree, in fact, is a symbol of particular approach of thinking pattern. All that existing in Paradise has been placed at man's command and authority. When it is desired that one should have an apple though the apple trees are there in Paradise but plucking of apples from the trees never come under consideration. Just the desire to have apple renders it available for consumption. Desire to drink water is enough for the availability of water. This approach discloses that there are two ways to influence something.

One of them is that one after planting an apple-tree, waits for its growth, when after considerable time the tree bears fruit and one desires to enjoy the fruit one has to walk towards the tree, gather the fruit and eat it The other way of influencing is that there are trees laden with fruits. These trees have not been planted by anyone after tilling the soil nor has anyone looked after these trees to nurture them. Now if one desires to eat an apple without taking the trouble of gathering the fruit the apple becomes available for the pleasure of one's taste. The skill and wisdom required to conduct this type of influence can be explored by comparing it with the acts of God.

It was an integral part of the Holy Will of God that the universe should come into existence so when He commanded it to be by saying Kun (Be!) it came into being. In the Paradisiacal life, the will to eat apple was incorporated in the mind of Adam so when he willed to have one, he said, 'apple' and the apple came into being. Utterance of Kun caused the universe existing and by saying 'apple' the apple was made available. This thing has been acknowledged by God, the Lord Creator by stating, "I am the best of all creators.' To wit, God has bestowed the creative abilities upon His creatures enabling them to create just as He Himself does. The difference in the creation of God and the creation of man is that God creates without any resources. The resources are produced automatically to accomplish the Will of God regarding the creation of something. All that God wanted to manifest was created when 'kun' was pronounced by God, the Omnipotent. The creative abilities of man are related with the use of resources. Man is dependent upon means and resources for creating anything.

When the creative abilities are put to use after liberating from the spatio-temporal restraints one enjoys the spiritual life and when these creative abilities are used depending upon the resources with constraints of time and space one lives in the material life. The life incarcerated the dependent upon means and resources are the life of obliviousness, ignorance and injustice. Just as the intellect, wisdom and sagacity grow and thrive like a tree, the knowledge grows into branches of various types, ever new philosophies are initiated, new discoveries and inventions are made, similarly and exactly the same way, the tree of injustice and ignorance also have branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. If the basis of man's advancement and progress in injustice and ignorance then all his inventions bring him unhappiness instead of happiness and pleasure. He grows restless instead of becoming peaceful, instead of feeling satisfied of his achievements dissatisfaction creeps into his life.

When the advancement of modern sciences is studied we find this progress based upon all those things that have been described as transgression, injustice and ignorance by Allah, the Omniscient. The advancement of today has inflicted sufferings upon mankind. Everyone of us is restless, dissatisfied and perturbed. The dragon of anxiety and uncertainty is anxious to swallow the whole of mankind but since all this was carried out depending upon confined resources and observing the restraints of time and space, man is distressed and perturbed.

The one who has liberated himself from the spatio-temporal constraints and opted for spiritual approach, follows nature in harmony and when we study the nature we observe that all the sources and means available on earth are based upon credence and sincere service without any expectation of reward, personal motive and lust. The sun, for instance, dutifully rises daily just to benefit the creatures of its Lord. The water that irrigates the creatures does so without any expectation of any favor or reward from the creatures. Same is the case of air, oxygen, plants and minerals. The inventions of modern science have become miserable and torturing because these things have been created with the mixture of means and resources produced by Allah and low mentality of man seeking monetary benefits from these inventions. Lust for personal gains even polluted the credence of the means utilized for creating a modern device and instead of benefiting mankind these things are proving to be a source of mental torture and agony for mankind.